Firm News
Partner Lawrence Peikes Quoted in Connecticut Law Tribune on Bias Case
On August 2, 2024, Partner Lawrence Peikes was quoted in the Connecticut Law Tribune article titled, “Sharply Divided Conn. Supreme Court Chooses Broad View of Supervisor Role in Bias Case.”
In a 4-3 decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court adopted the federal standard for determining whether an employee accused of workplace harassment is a supervisor for purposes of assessing employer liability in hostile work environment cases. The majority rejected a broader definition of a supervisor proposed by the dissent that was predicated on policy considerations.
Regarding the dissent’s public policy-based view, Larry explains, “This is an argument that should be directed to the Legislature, not to the court. It would be a ‘sharp turn’ from the norm without any statutory language to back it up. In addition, the proposed definition might lead to ‘factual disputes ad nauseum as to whether someone has that level of authority that would trigger supervisory status. It makes it likely to generate more litigation not less, and make the end result less certain, not more.'”
To learn more and to read the article, click here.
